Luis Wilson Valera

(7 December 1930 - 18 December 2006, Cuba)

Playa Giron (Pionero, April 1962)

Luis Felipe Wilson Valera was a political cartoonist and comic artist from Guantánamo, Cuba. He worked for Editorial Zig Zag before Fidel Castro's revolutionary government came to power in 1959. He founded Rebelde 5, the magazine of the National Revolutionary Police Force that same year. He also contributed to Verde Olivo (1960-68), but he mainly published his work in Palante during his 40-year career.

Las Criolitas

His best known creation is 'Las Criollitas', his award-winning cartoon series about Cuban women. Among his other comic creations are 'Los Sueños de Musi' for Din Don (Ediciones en Colores, 1960s), 'Playa Girón' for Pionero (1960s) and 'Las Melli' for Cómicos (1980s). He was in Angola during the war (1979-80), where he worked for Verde Olivo and Misión Internacionalista, as well as O'Nanjo Uamili, the official publication of the FAPLA (People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola).